San Diego Schools Spend $15 Million On 26,000 iPads For Kids

San Diego’s Unified Schools District has spent $15 million on almost 26,000 iPads that will be distributed across 340 classrooms this fall in what is reportedly one of the largest educational iPad purchases to date. The devices will be used by fifth- and eighth-grade students, in addition to some in high schools.

Apple’s Chief Financial Officer, Peter Oppenheimer, noted the District’s purchase during a quarterly results call back in April. It had already purchased 10,000 back then, and there was a plan to pick up at least 15,000 more. The 26,000 figure is the total number of devices the District will purchase during 2012.

The purchase comes through a voter-sanctioned funding program called Proposition S, according to MacNN, which allocates money for modern technology to local schools. Despite the $15 million bill, the District has chosen to adopt the cheaper $399 iPad 2, which will actually cost only $370 per unit after educational discount.

It’s unclear how the iPads will be used, but there are a huge selection of educational apps in Apple’s App Store that benefit students of all ages, in addition to the interactive textbooks available through iBooks 2, and the library of courses offered by iTunes U.